The rain he’d so despised had turned to snow, falling heavy through the leaves of the glade. Jarek had wandered away from the castle for a short jaunt, returning to the familiar throng of trees. Winter swept in swiftly, blanketing the world in a chill he hadn’t expected and cutting his fuse even shorter. The dog came to a stop, nose to the ground, inspecting an old scent marker. Nearby underbrush shuddered and Jarek lazily glanced in its direction with the expectation that a squirrel or hare would emerge from its depths. In a second, the large, soft form of a doe bounded from the thickets. Two pairs of eyes - predator and prey - widened in surprise at each other as the deer leapt, its hooves thudding across his hips.

What the f— Jarek snarled as he caught himself, legs flung wide to steady his heavy build from crashing to the earth. The deer was out of sight by the time he'd stopped swaying. Ready to throw a string of expletives after the doe, Jarek found himself once again face to face with a quickly incoming creature - the wolf clearly in the chase. He rushed to move out of its path, muscles tensed and ready in case of a secondary impact.

Watch where you’re bloody goin’!